Finding my Heart: A New Amuto Story
by Neko-chanXDemyx
Summary: Sequel to 'An Amuto Story', Amu and Ikuto are finally Boyfriend and Girlfriend, but things start to try to get in the way of their love, including the challenge to find their charas that dissapeared on the night of their confession.
1. Looking Back

**Neko-chan: I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!**

***computerized cheering sounds***

**Amu: Finally! Took you long enough...**

**Neko-chan: What? There always has to be a somewhat long pause between quels. (Um... I didn't know what to call it.... Since it's a precquel and a sequel... I just kinda went with the whole quels things, so if that's not the right word.... you will live. Don't bug me about it.)**

**Ikuto: Why? I thought you were the 'original writer'.**

**Neko-chan: ... Um... no... No I'm not.... Woah... I feel dizzy...**

**Amu: Are you drunk or what?**

**Neko-chan: No! I'm **_**way **_**too young to drink! The only thing I would be drunk off of would be caffeine or sugar- HA! THAT'S IT!**

**Everyone: *sweatdrop***

**Neko-chan: AH WELL! Everyone welcome, and please enjoy my new story, **_**Finding my Heart**_**, the sequel to **_**An Amuto Story**_**!**

**Mirror: Neko-chan does not own Shugo Chara!**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 1**

**Looking Back**

**~Amu's POV~**

I stood inside as I stared out my balcony window. Normally, being a Wednesday, I would have gone to school, but _it _prevented me from going.

Snow.

The little frozen white specs gently floated towards the ground as it continued to sew a giant white sheet over the city. Every one of them reminded me of the promise we made that day...

I chuckled slightly. _But then again, when am I _not _thinking about it? _The words seemed filled with magic as we spoke them. I wonder if that was what it would be like when we got married.... My cheeks turned a light shade of pink. _That's only assuming we marry when _**I**_ get older. Not him. We've both decided that he gets to stay the same age until I catch up._

I laughed out loud at my words, seeing how far from reality they were, even if it would make things a whole heck of a lot easier. Almost every time we went out together (which was quiet often, might I add), at least one person would comment on him being a protective _brother _or even _father _for watching over me at this age. _Seriously though! How do they screw that up?! We are only three years apart! Could he _really _look like my father? _

I sighed. Too many people were concerned over this age group problem. When ever you ask some one the general question, "Do you think age matters in love?" they will almost always say no. Then you show them the person either much older or younger than you... and then they talk about how they are out of your age group. Talk about confusion. They are basically saying "Yeah, it's okay as long as _you _aren't the one getting into a relationship like that."

I smiled as my mind continued to well with happiness while thinking about all the 'talks' I've gotten from about going out with Ikuto.

"He's waaaay too old for you, Amu!"

"Wholy shit... how in the _world _did you get him to like you?"

"O.M.G.! You are so lucky!"

"Amu, are you sure he's okay? I mean, there is about a 3 year difference between you two!"

Oh, and don't forget my favorite.

"Hinamori-san, don't do it! That thieving cat is just tricking you so that you will go all soft on him when he suddenly turns against us!"

I bet you'll never guess who said that one.

It was Ikuto's favorite too, but he said it was because of my reaction... hehe.... Let's just say I left a couple bruises.... and scars.... and maybe a couple stitches, too.

Poor Tadase.

1...

2... I bursted into laughter. I just can't say that without laughing! It's just so hilarious!

Poor Tadase.... HAHAHAHA!!!!

"What are you laughing about?" His silky smooth voice came from behind me. My laughter slowly died down to a stop and I turned around to see him without surprise. We could both easily describe what would have normally happened before we started going out.

Ikuto: What are you laughing about?

Me: *spins around* I-I-Ikuto?!?! *blush*

I smiled. "Nothing," I responded. He put on his 'pouty face'.

"Aww... Why won't you tell me?" It was impossible not to giggle.

"I was thinking about the time when I told Tadagay I was going out with you..."

"The time when you bitch-slapped him while holding a steak knife? That was a good time... It was hilarious when you didn't get in any trouble for almost killing him."

"That was because you said I stabbed him in self defence because he was trying to rape me..."

"Yeah? So?"

You can _not _tell me that he isn't perfect.

"I love you," I said, both reminding him of my feelings for him and thanking him for being, well, awesome.

"I love you, too."

The quiet returned, and the snow pulled me back into my previous thoughts; pulling me back into my dark and confusing world with the absence of my charas.

It was hard to understand time while watching the snow fall. It sort of puts you in a trance... so I am not really sure when I asked Ikuto the question.

"Ikuto?"

"Hm?"

"How are we going to find the charas?"

He was quiet for a bit. "I'm not sure, but I know we will find away."

I frowned. It wasn't really fair to automatically assume Ikuto would have all the answers (even though at times he seemed like he would), but it was a bit frustrating. _How are we going to find them? It's been almost a month now, and we still don't have any idea of how we were going to do this..._

I flinched from his unexpected hug from behind as he pecked my ear. "You worry too much."

A heavy sigh of defeat exploded from me. "I know... It's just so hard to bear... They were like sisters, and it doesn't just feel like they ran away for a bit. It feels like they _died_." His arms dropped from their embrace around me as he walked to my side. "I know..."

"I also miss being able to just jump up here..." I forced a smile. Without Yoru to do a chara change with, Ikuto has had to use the door lately. I kinda missed it too, since now we can't sneak any meeting after 9 anymore... easily.

Now _I'm _the one sneaking _outside_.

And _no, _we aren't doing anything disgusting.

"I miss Yoru, too."

A smile crossed my face as I remembered that poor little chara... almost every time I saw him, he was either being scolded/flicked by Ikuto or with Miki.

In fact, those two spent a _lot _of time together....

"Oh shit."

"What?!" Panic quickly overcame Ikuto as he looked at me, waiting to hear what had caused me to say the 15th letter of the alphabet followed by another word for poo. **(Lol. I know this doesn't really fit the mood, but it just sounded fun to do. ^-^)**

"Miki and Yoru... I think.... I think that they liked each other... I mean, _liked _liked each other..."

And then he gave me the same look he gives me when ever I have a 'blonde' moment; the look that says, "Wow... your _smart_. *sarcasm*"

"Amu... are you just figuring this out now?"

"Yes, why?"

He slapped his hand to his face. I scowled. "What?! Don't tell me _you _noticed any sooner!"

"Actually..."

"You have got to be kidding me. How long?!"

"... Since the first time they met!"

"... Well shit."

"You sure are oblivious, aren't you?"

I sighed. "Even my own boyfriend... Do I really miss that many things?"

*cricket chirp*

I let out another sigh. "I'll take that as a, "Sorry, but yeah."

His arms were wrapped around me once more. "But that is one of the qualities I like about you."

"How can it be a good quality?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Cause now I know I can surprise you every time I do this." Just like he predicted, my eyes widened as he kissed me. Then I closed my eyes and gave in.

When we pulled away, we both let out a laugh.

"We will find them," he whispered one more time before I he had to leave.

I snuggled close to him, trying to enjoy this time as much as I could before it was over. "Ran, Miki, Suu, Dia, Yoru, Aitora... We'll see you soon."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Neko-chan: I apologize since this was basically a recap chapter, but I just kinda had to put it in there. Just think of it as an opening...**

**Mirror: Your opening sucked...**

**Neko-chan: I love you, too. *sarcasm***

**PLEASE REVIEW! ^-^**


	2. GOMEN NE!

**Neko-chan: Okay peoples!**

**Gomenasai for such the long wait, but I have some good news for those of you who want me to update faster**

**1. I just finished ****Mind Readers****. **

**2. I'm probably going to delete ****The New Cat in Town**** until I finish this story.**

**Bad News...**

**I'm lazy and am trying to learn Japanese, so I still may update kinda late.... Gomen ne**

**Also... I wasn't able to get to my computer this weekend, so I didn't get anything done....**

**Sorry**

**Anyways**

**I watched episode 77 and was crying. **

**(My rambling over the latest episode. Be prepared)**

**I felt so bad for Ikuto. He's always helping her and saving her, and she just finally realized that, but then he has to make her hate him just so her family doesn't get into the big mess... and at the end, you can tell how oblivious Amu is to all this because she says "I've never hurt anyone that deeply in my entire life.. What have I done"**

**At that part, I wanted to scream. She puts Ikuto through that kind of pain on a daily basis. The only reason she noticed Tadagay's is because he didn't even try to hide it. Ikuto is actually **_**trying **_**to hide it so that he doesn't worry her. **

**And she practically stabbed him again with **

**"I hate you! I never want to see your face again!"**

**She told him she hated him the one time he was breaking X eggs, too.**

**She was also oblivious to the reasons why each time. **

**I want to stab Tadagay and slap Amu and yell at her**

**(Ramble done)**

**Also, Chapter 39**

**(Or not. More Ramble)\**

**I liked it a lot, but I wanted to say something. Even thought it was **_**completely **_**kawaii for him to say, "This time, **_**I'm **_**going to save **_**you**_**" , isn't that what always happens? I know it was for the helping him from the death rebel and saving his life, but he has saved her life countless times over, and she never repays him (except with pain). Ah well. I don't know. **

**(Both Rambles Done)**

**So, once again, I'm sorry for the late updates. I'll start trying to work on this story more. **

**Bu Bye! ^-^**


	3. Guardian Battles a Furry Friend

**Neko-chan: Okay peoples. As promised, here is chapter 2.**

**I do not own Shugo Chara. Peach Pit does (even if they disappoint me with each episode).**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 2**

**Guardian Battles + a Furry Friend**

**~Amu's POV~**

A person bumped into me as I made my way through the halls. I grunted as I dropped a notebook.

"Oh my God- I'm so sorry! Don't hurt me!" I turned to see the same fanboy since.. well, forever, bowing to my feet. **(AN: It's the sort lil' boy with brown hair and glasses that bumped into Amu in the very first episode and squeals like a fangirl when he sees her)**

A sweatdrop ran down the back of my head. "It's okay. You don't need to worry about it this much..."

"No! I'm sorry!" He sprang up from the ground and was in my face in an instant with tears forming a waterfall on his face. "What can I ever do to make you forgive me?!"

"I really don't need anything..." I took a step back, feeling uncomfortable.

"No! I can do anything! I swear! Here's my lunch money! Take it!" He slapped a five-thousand yen bill (about 5 dollars) in my hand.

"Please, this is unnecessary I don't-," but he was already running away, leaving multiple eyes looking back after him and some glaring at me.

I slouched down, feeling utterly defeated.

"I know Ikuto encouraged me to stop my 'cool & spicy' act, but it feels like it's super-glued to me forever..." I sighed. When I looked up, only a few people remained, and all of them were rushing to gym.

"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!"

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Luckily, I had gotten to the assembly and put on the silly looking guardian cape just in time.

Yaya, Rima, Nagihiko, and I stood behind Tadase as he rambled on about new school rules and things that we intend to do to help everyone. My eyes stared at the blank wall, trying to keep my boredom from pulling them down to the crowd and getting stage fright. Then again, if I did end up doing that, Ran would probably save me with a character chage... I hope. Better not take any chances.

I tried to focus on Tadase's voice without laughing as it reminded me of the 'incident'. That would be enough of a challenge to keep my occupied.

".. and now I would like to announce some special news." Weird... I didn't remember this part. I must have not been paying attention.

"We, the guardians, intend to get a new school pet!"

The entire crowd began clapping loudly and talking to each other about how cool it would be, while me and the other guardians continued to stare at Tadagay in shock.

"What?" I couldn't help but squeak. An awkward silence immediatly followed right after. "We never disscussed this!" I yelled at him.

He grunted and folded his arms. "Well, why would we need to discuss something like this?" His hand waved out to the crowd. "They seemed to like it, so my assumption was right. Why wouldn't we get a pet?"

"Yaya wants a puppy!" she yelled.

"Actually, I'm allergic to dogs, so-" And then the entire crowd exploded into an uproar of suggestions. In the corner, a little group was chanting "Snake! Snake! Snake!", while other groups chanted their animal, as well as the few single people that just yelled some animal at the top of their lungs.

I glared at him. "_This... _is why. We should have discussed this; we should have organized a few ideas; we should have gotten everything planned out. Why on _Earth _didn't you even attempt to talk to us about this?" I asked, completely pissed.

The awkward silence returned.

"BECAUSE I ALREADY GOT THE DARNED THING! I FOUND IT IN AN ALLYWAY THIS MORNING!" he yelled. As if in response, a small meow came from behind the stage.

Tadase ran towards it and pulled out a small cat. It looked malnourished by the size. It was only about a foot long, but you could tell it was at least a year old. It was a small Ocicat with grayish fur and mini black speckles all over it. Skinny black rings were grown in the fur on it's tail.

The crowd exploded into many "KAWAII!!"'s and small chuckles. I slapped my hand to my forehead.

"Tadase... have you even checked that thing for rabies?"

"I don't need to! Kuraikage doesn't have any! I'm sure!" he held it close.

"You _named _it?!" I screeched. _HE IS WORSE THAN A FOUR YEAR OLD LITTLE GIRL! NEXT THING YOU KNOW, HE' S GOING TO BE WHINING, "Can we keep it? Can we can we can we huh huh?"_

"Assembly over. Everyone go back to your class. The guardians will tell you the news once we have discussed this!" I yelled.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Can we keep it? Can we can we can we huh huh?" Did I just predict the future or what?

"Kitties are evil! They scratch you and bite you! I wanted a cute wittle puppy!" Yaya whined in a baby voice.

"I think it's cute," Nagehiko said as scratched it behind the ears while it sat in Tadase's arms.

_Ugh... I already hate Tadase enough. Now he has to suddenly make me the mother of everyone...._

"It looks weird," Rima said, poking it on the head. I sighed.

"Guys, we know nothing about this cat-"

"Kuraikage," Tadase corrected. A vein popped in my head as I raised my fist as a warning that I could beat the living shit out of him at any moment now.

"... about _Kuraikage.... _What if it has an owner? What kind of diseases could it have? Maybe it has some some deadly disease." Yaya gasped, no longer worried about being bitten.

"Then we should help it!" she yelped.

"It seemes kind of helpless..." Nagihiko added, giving me a look that said '_Sorry, Amu-chan, but I really like it!'_

"If we let it go, it's just going to die!" Tadase cried, "Besides, you took care of that thieving cat when he was sick, so let me take care of-"

"OKAY!" I stopped him short. "FINE! We can keep it, okay?!" Nagihiko, Yaya, and Tadase both cheered happily while Rima just stood there with a bored face.

My eyes looked down at the little cat. "Mew!", it squeaked. Then, I just couldn't help it... I guess it _was _kind of cute...

I wish I would've know more about what I was getting into.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Neko-chan: Yeah, I know, it was kind of short, but I updated fairly quickly from my last message. **

**Okay, so right now, I'd like to introduce some awesome stories I have read. Please look into them! They are great!!!**

**A Dorm with WHO!**** by Negi0392**

**Rima Can't Spell, a Rimahiko Fanfic**** by .kimi**

**The Secret Life of Amu**** (plus sequel) by Smallvillegirl2**

**Cloudless Skies: Ikuto's New Chara****by -Devilish-Anime-Angel- (currently. She changes her username a lot... lol.)**

**Angel!**** by REX01091**

**Thanks, and please review! ^-^**


	4. Neko Problems

**Neko-chan: Okay, I had intended to update yesterday, but I lost the first half of this chapter I had wrote before, so now I have to start all over. Ya~sarcasm~aay...**

**I do not own Shugo Chara! Peach Pit does! (and they still continue to to upset me)**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 3**

**Neko Problems**

**~Amu's POV~**

**(At the Pet Store)**

All of us roamed the few isles in the place, picking out a few toys for our new pet, also getting her a collar, some food, and some catnip. It didn't cost that much money since we all chipped in. Well... all of us except Yaya, but that was expected.

Tadagay and Rima were already out the door when something caught my eye. I looked over to see a small little string and mouse toy sitting on the inside of the store window for display.

I wonder what Ikuto looked like when he did a full cat chara change....

I ran over, grabbed it, and slammed it down by the cash register along with 1000 yen **(about $10)**. The cashier thanked me and handed my change. I thanked her, grabbed the money and ran outside.

"What took you so long?" Yaya asked curiously.

"Sorry. I just wanted to by one last thing for Ik- I mean, my sister! Yeah, she got this new cat stuffed animal, and she likes to pretend they're real, so..." I trailed off.

"That's awfully nice of you," Nagihiko said with a wide smile. Rima turned to glare at him.

"Thanks," I smiled back, feeling somewhat guilty for lying to my friends.

"Well, let's head back!" Tadagay cheered in his girly voice. We all followed him back to the Royal Garden.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

We all gave Kuraikage some of the food, made her a little bed, and then left.

While we were walking back to our houses for the day, Yaya brought up a question. "Kuraikage is so loooong!" she drew out the word. Even I had to agree with her. Weren't animal names supposed to be short? I mean, Dark Shadow **(AN Kurai = dark Kage = Shadow)** is cool, but it's really long... and it doesn't suit a cat as spaztic and hyperactive as her.

"Let's name it Kiki!" she squealed.

"But-" Tadase tried to stop her.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Nagihiko said.

"I like it," Rima said, lacking emotion like usual.

"Guys, she already has-"

"Well, that settles it! We all agree, so now her new name is Kiki!" I said happily, purposely leaving Tadagay out of 'all'.

"SHE ALREADY HAS A NAME!" he yelled. I cocked my head towards him.

"Yeah, but you were out voted by the people who count," _Burnnnn... _I thought to myself, then I continued with a smile. "So her new name is Kiki!"

He grunted, and then stomped off in the other direction.

"Whatever," Rima said, and we all turned around and continued to our homes.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

When I opened the door to my room, I wasn't surprised at all to see Ikuto lying on my bed reading some of my mangas. "Hey, I'm home," I said as I dropped my book bag on the floor and walked over to him. He didn't look up at me, so I glanced over his shoulder to see what he was reading.

"Ikuto... why are you reading my shoujo mangas?" I asked. It would've been funny to see him say he wasn't and completely freak out if I had found out his secret, but he didn't. Well, I guess hoping for that would make as much sense as hoping for a baby purple dragon that breathes bubbles and craps out MNM's. He simply sighed and closed it.

"It's not my fault that you don't have anything besides these to read," he replied, finally looking at me. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What about _The Green Mile _by Stephan King? Are you to afraid to read a scary book?" I taunted, still laughing. He frowned. "No, not scared. Just lazy. They don't have pictures of people. Also, it's fun to watch the girls in these mangas blush. They remind me of you."

And I blushed. Irony much? "Yeah, like that," he laughed. Then he got up and hugged me. "Welcome back."

"Arigato."

Not that I found it annoying or anything, but his 'Welcome Home' hug was longer than usual. "Um... Ikuto?"

_*Sniff Sniff* _

_Is it the perfume I put on this morning? _I was about to ask, but then he flung himself across the room and was backed against the wall, giving me a frightened look.

"Amu, WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE A CAT IN HEAT?!?!"

....

"EH??!??!!?!"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Neko-chan: *sighs* I know, I know... but I like making my chapters like other books: leaving off with a cliff hanger**

**And I know it makes them shorter, but my options were this:  
1. Make it short and a cliff hanger and update now**

**2. Make it long and a cliff hanger and update in about 4 days**

**Sorry if you would've rather me picked the second one. If I have a bunch of people telling me that, I'll do it that way next time. **

**And yeah... I like the cliff hanger idea. It makes sure that you people keep reading! The cliffies are what keep me watching Shugo Chara (cause if they didn't have those, I would've already stopped and gone emo from Amu completely stabbing Ikuto in the heart every two episodes)**

**Also: Anyone have any idea if the people in episode 78 will celebrate Easter? I was hoping to find this out since January cause I was curious... but now I am not very sure cause right now, Easter just makes me want to kill someone... I guess the next few days will suck for me, then, won't they? Lol.**

**Ah well. Please Review!! ^-^**


	5. Sorry break

**Okay Peoples, I'm going to be blunt with this.**

**Lately, I can't type worth a crap. It just isn't working. My story is supposed to be DRAMATIC AND SUSPENSEFUL, not constantly humorous, even if a little is good. Well, I was working on Chapter 4, but I keep getting off track and as I try to make it funny, it makes less and less sense.**

**I I've been into the humor and stuff lately (doing mad libs, reading funny fanfictions) I even print them out and take them with me. Also, after showing one of my friends a fanfiction I printed out, they said they wanted to read mine. **

**Later on, I read it, and I realized that with the way I was going with the sequel, I was going much further from my original writing style, even if I really liked it. It upset me. **

**So, I am going to take a break from fanfiction. I know that some of you are probably going to kill me now, but I think it could have a good result with better chapters later on, and hopefully, when I do start writing again, faster updates. **

**What I will be doing in the spare time: Probably trying to make AMVs with a new program I got. Hopefully that goes well. **

**And I promise, as soon as I finally feel confident enough to start writing fanfictions again, I will start typing right away.**

**Gomen ne**

**-Neko-chan**


	6. More Neko Problems

**Neko-chan: Okay peoples, so I just got a new computer with Microsoft Word on it and stuff, so the spacing may come out a bit different than usual. **

**Anyway… I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!!! ^-^ **

**And I am totally excited about it, too. The words aren't as difficult and annoying to think of anymore, and that takes of a WHOLE lot of stress on me.**

**Well, I'll save some of the other stuff till later, since you probably want to read the story, so please enjoy!**

**  
Mirror: Neko-chan does not own Shugo Chara**

**Chapter 4**

**More Neko Problems**

**~Amu's POV~**

_~flashback~_

_"Amu, WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE A CAT IN HEAT?!?!"_

_...._

_"EH??!??!!?!"_

_~end flashback~_

How in the WORLD was I supposed to respond to that?! "I… I… What?!" My mind wanted to reply but was stuck in pure shock. Then again, it's not everyday you get asked why you smell like a cat in-

"Wait!" I yelled, interrupting my own thought. "Could it…" My eyes widened as I looked at him. His cat ears and tail were sticking out, but that didn't matter right now. "Is it…?"

By the look on his face, he was obviously still uncomfortable, but I could tell he was listening now. "..What?" he asked.

"Maybe…" I was too afraid to speak the words. A small little hope was flickering into my heart after such a long time, that now it seemed as if saying the name would put It out in a heart-beat.

"Amu, what are-" his eyes widened in the middle of his sentence, and I knew he realized what I was thinking. My eyes burned into his, asking questions without speaking the words.

And then his eyes melted into a saddened state, which instantly had the same effect on my own.

He didn't think it was Aitora.

His cat ears and tail were still up, but he walked over to me and hugged me anyways. "I'm sorry… It's just… I can remember the scent of our charas… and… well…" he trailed off, not needing to say anymore. It wasn't her.

"It's okay. I get it," I told him. It was obvious he wasn't going to say anymore, but I needed to say _something_. I could feel how upset he was about it. "I guess it was kinda impossible, wasn't it?" My fake smile failed miserably as I tried to lighten the mood up a bit, because in the end he just ended up hugging me and apologizing once more.

After a few moments, he pulled away and wrinkled his nose towards me. "Seriously though, it's not the most pleasant smell to be around, no offense," he added when I sighed.

"Ya' know, 'no offense' doesn't make it any less offensive, especially when you are telling your girlfriend she smells bad." I smiled up at him. He was so much better at making things happier than I was.

"I'm sorry," he said as we both shared a quick kiss. **(A/N: Gomen ne if you are one of those people who like the random make-out sessions every 5 min. I'm fairly against it, so don't be expecting any real soon.)**

"I forgive you."

"So…" he reached over and grabbed a bottle of perfume and sprayed me. "… now that that's over…"

"Pffft," I spat out some of the perfume he rudely sprayed into my mouth. "Thanks."

"No problem."

An awkward silence entered the room, making me wonder about what to talk about next. I gave up on that after 3 seconds, and found myself wondering about the smell. Realization flashed in my eyes as I lightly punched my palm. "Oh yeah!"

"Hm?"

"It was Kiki! I bet that was where the smell came from!"

"… Kiki?"

"Yeah, Tadagay insisted on getting a school pet which was this cat thing he found in an all-"

"Cat _thing?_"

"Okay, just cat. Whatever! You get the point. Well anyways, he found it and insisted on keeping it before letting the vet see it. We _did _however go to the pet store and got her some things. Oooh. That reminds me!" I walked over to my bag and pulled out the little mouse-on-a-string cat toy.

He sweat-dropped. "Amu… what are you doing?" he asked as I swung the little toy across his face. I frowned.

"How come you're not playing with it?"

"Amu, I may do character transformations with Yoru every once in a while, but I'm not a retarded house cat that chases small stuffed animals on string."

I pouted. "Aww. You're no fun." He just laughed.

"That used to be my line, remember?"

"Oh yeah," I replied as I remembered with my eyes on the ceiling. **(A/N Seriously though, I don't know if me and all my family and friends are freaks, but every single time someone goes deep into thought, they look up at the ceiling. WHY?! I do it too, but…)**I looked back at him and smiled. "Now it's ours."

"Hmm? Since when did you start using my lines? I thought I was a 'neko-mimi-cosplay-guy'?" he smirked.

"I haven't called you that in months!"

"I know. I miss it. It was fun to watch you blush every 2 seconds."

And _thanks to cursed irony,_ I blushed.

"Yeah, like that," he chuckled.

"Oh shush."

"Make me."

I used the little cat toy as a slingshot and propelled a small toy mouse at his forehead.

"Ow!" he grunted as he began to rub his head. He looked up at me. "That wasn't very nice, Amu-_koi_."

"And you should know by now that your emphasis on my name slash honorific doesn't affect me any more, Ikuto-_koi_," I replied, using the exact same emphasis on the honorific as he used.

"Aww, your no fun no more," he said as he flopped down onto my bed. And then we both burst into laughter at the little joke.

An awkward silence came afterwards. And with that, I burst into another fit of laughter, but this time Ikuto wasn't laughing with me. Instead, he was looking at me like I had gone insane.

"What's so funny?" he asked. I wiped a tear from my eye.

"Just… a funny… thought," I replied in between breaths.

"Hmm? Are you going to tell me what it was?"

"Sure…," I wiped another tear from my eye. "Have you ever heard the saying that a gay child is born in every awkward silence?"

"Um… no?"

"Well, there's a saying that says just that, I was thinking about how long the awkward silence must have been when Tadagay was born," and my laughter fit continued.

Ikuto just sweat-dropped and chuckled a bit, but he didn't seem to get nearly as much amusement out of it as I did.

I sat there laughing for a while as Ikuto watched, a smile on his face as he god amusement watching me crack up over something so minor. Then a voice came from downstairs, "Ikuto! It's 9 o' clock! Time to get a move on!"

"Aww…," I whined. He laughed and gave me a quick peck on the forehead.

"The usual?" he asked.

"Yep. See you in 10 minutes."

**Neko-chan: Woot! Okay, I'm not completely sure how long it is since I've been using Word pad for so long… but it's good for now. At least I didn't give you much of a cliff hanger.**

**And now for my usual rant!**

**Episode 79 was… upsetting. The parts with Kukai were kinda good, but Tadagay seemed to ruin a lot of it. Then the part where Amu was there, I was crying and threatening to kill her if she didn't go save Ikuto. (Wow, I sound like I'm watching a soap opera… ) And then when she and Ikuto were fighting, I was whining like a hurt animal…. I'm a freak. I know. -.-**

**And at first when Ikuto was about to attack her cause she wasn't going to let him destroy the teacups, I was SOOOO happy cause I was expecting a kawaii Amuto moment and all… and, like usual, Tadagay came in and ruined it. **

**Now, to Peach Pit, at least one of the next two episodes needs to be full of Amuto, cause my B-day is on Sunday (WOO HOO)**

**And if they don't, I will gather an angry mob of Amuto fans (which shouldn't be to hard to do. I'm sure some of you reviewers would like to help with that. Lol) and we will go, tie them up, and threaten to kill a stuffed bear if they don't fix the anime NOW.**

**Ikuto: WTF. Why haven't we been in any of these last messages anymore?!**

Neko-chan: Well you are now. Be happy. OOH! *starts singing 'Be happy, Don't Worry' (which I do not own, btw)*

**Amu: ~sweatdrop~**


	7. Just Inches Away

**Neko-chan: Hey peoples! I'm back! ^-^**

**Amu: Oh my gosh, you didn't take an entire week this time… *puts hand on forehead* Are you sick?**

**Neko-chan: ~sweatdrop~ Thanks, Amu. I feel loved. **

**Amu: *confused***

**Neko-chan: *sighs* Oh! I forgot something! I got a review a few nights ago…. And it kind of annoyed me. I would respond personally, but they don't have an account.**

**If you don't know who Aitora is, read the first story. In the description, it **_**clearly **_**states: "Sequel to ****An Amuto Story****, and it's the first thing on there! I can deal with some questions, but ruining my excitement of a review by asking me a really **_**really **_**stupid question, and not even really politely, ticks me off.**

**Now feel free to write back if you think I'm being mean, but **_**I**_**think I'm being pretty fair here. No name was stated, and I even admitted I wouldn't have told this to everyone if they had an account, which doesn't take long to make by the way.**

**Also, fair warning, Ikuto may be a little OOC in this chapter. **

**Aitora: Neko-chan doesn't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 5**

**Just Inches Away**

**~Amu's POV~**

Like I promised, in about 10 minutes, I snuck out through the front door while my parents were just going to sleep and met Ikuto on a little hill we found one day in the same forest we chased each other in a long time ago. A smile rose to my face as I remembered the fairly embarrassing moment that went on that night…**(See chapters 2 and 3 of ****An Amuto Story**** for reference!)**

"Hey," I greeted him. He was gazing up at the stars, looking deep in thought. "Watch ya' thinking about?" His head snapped down to look at me, looking somewhat startled.

"Oh," he sighed. "Not much."

"Not much as in…?" I waited for him to answer. 'Not much' was just another way of saying, "I won't tell you unless you ask again," when it came to Ikuto.

"'Not much' as in chara stuff."

"Hm," I hummed beside him, gazing back up at the stars where he was a minute ago. "Come up with any good ideas?"

"Nope," he answered bluntly. Tonight he seemed kind of annoyed for some odd reason. I looked up at him.

"Anything wrong? You seem kind of mad."

He gave another sigh before he answered me. "I feel… anxious. At times, it just seems like they are so close, yet just inches away from my grasp. It's _aggravating_," he growled with a clenched fist.

I frowned and turned back to the sky. "Yeah, I know what you mean. At times, I think I even hear them. It's just a sentence, but I just feel… part of me just _knows _it's them, but then I wait a while, and nothing happens. Sometimes I wonder if I am hallucinating."

"What did they say?" he asked. This time curiosity laced his voice instead of the annoyed anger.

"Well, the first time was the day after I had found out that they were gone…" I trailed off, not wanting to say anymore. I didn't really want to tell him the first thing I heard from my charas. It had been when I was going into hysteria, and something told me, "He has already done his fair share of crying."

At first, his eyes seemed to burn into my skin, prodding for an answer. Then he backed off. "Hm. Any other times?" I could hear the disappointment in his voice, but I was still glad he wasn't going to force me to tell him.

"Um… none that I remember, but recently, I've been just feeling there presence… sorry if that sounds stupid."

"It doesn't," he told me. "I feel it all time, kind of like how you know when you are being watched, you can just sort of _feel _them." He was so much better at wording things than I was… Sometimes I wonder if he's too good for me.

_Don't say that. _I froze completely, not daring to take even another breath. _You two are perfect for each other! _The voice coming from in my head sounded kind of mad, but I ignored it.

_Who are you?! Ran? Miki? Suu? Dia? Aitora? … Yoru? _I directed the words towards it in my mind, hoping my words could reach it.

"Amu?" Ikuto asked, just noticing my awkward state. "What's wrong?"

_You spoke to me before! Talk to me again! _This time _I _was the one sounding mad. "_TELL ME WHO YOU ARE!!!" _ I was screaming both with my thoughts and with my mouth.

"Amu, what's-"

I cut him off. "Ikuto!" I yelled, turning to face him, aware of how distressed my face must look. "They're there! They just spoke to me! But they won't respond when I try to talk to them!" My control disappeared as I threw myself into his arms and started crying. "Why? Why won't they let me know they are okay?! WHY?!"

Tears were running down my cheeks as he stroked my hair like a small animal. He was whispering to me that it would be alright, trying to calm me down like my mother. I felt so pathetic right now, but I couldn't pull myself to ask him to stop.

"I can't take it…," I sobbed, saying the first thing that popped into my mind. Right now, I just wanted to get it all out. "Why won't they talk to me…"

"It's alright…" he continued to comfort me. Even though it wasn't my plan, it ended up upsetting me even more.

"I feel so pathetic right now, I can't even keep control over my emotions for 5 seconds…" I sobbed.

_Amu-_

"NO!!!!" I yelled at it. By now, I probably needed a therapist. But what would I tell them? 'Oh yeah, I'm hearing voices in my head which may really be these little mini floating people that were my friends before they disappeared, but I can't get them to respond to me.' Cause that would go _soooo _well.

"I'm sorry…" I apologized to Ikuto for the 50 millionth and ½ time in my life.

"Don't be," he said, also for the 50 millionth and ½ time in _his _life.

Unable to do it myself, Ikuto's arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a standing position. After he saw that I couldn't walk, he picked me up bridal style and started walking me home, even though he couldn't do his character change anymore.

When my door was in sight, he put me down and kissed me on the forehead. "See ya' tomarrow," he promised, and then turned around to leave.

"Wait!" I made him stop in his tracks as he turned around, looking curious.

"Um… Thanks…. Again…" I said. He just smirked.

"No problem, Amu-_koi_." It was impossible for me to not at least give a slight chuckle at that.

"Bye," I said, and then snuck back in the house and went to bed.

**Neko-chan: YAY!!! Once again, I still don't really know the size of the chapter because of Microsoft (and my laziness keeping me from actually looking). **

**Now, just for the fun of it, here's a little happy bunny quote. ^-^**

"**I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. And I said, "Hey, Footless Dude, guess you won't mind if I take your shoes." –Happy Bunny/ Jim Benton**


	8. Dream

**Neko-chan: Ugh… I don't know how long of a wait that was… but ah well. Friends were over, so don't blame me.**

**Mirror: Neko-chan does not own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 6**

**Dream**

**~Ikuto's POV~ **

I continued to walk back to my house throughout the night, shivering every once in a while at the cold wind that tried to knock me over. Ever since Yoru was gone, getting from place-to-place seemed to take forever, especially at night.

A racking shiver broke through my body. This was getting way too irritating. Of course, I wasn't going to tell Amu how difficult this was, though. She would just worry, and nothing could make me not want to go over there any more.

When Yoru was here, I didn't have to worry about tripping over things in the dark or how long it would take to get home. I didn't even have to worry about the cold nearly as much, because I'm assuming being with Yoru gave me an invisible fur coat or something. Who knows. All I know is that before, this wasn't nearly as bad.

The wind continued to push at my body, and it seemed as if it were all I could do to keep my feet going. My guess was that it was about an hour since I left, and I still have a couple more miles to go.

A shocking noise seemed to split through my contemplation.

"Mew?"

I looked down. By my feet sat a little speckled gray female cat staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Well, hello ther-" and then the familiar smell wafted up to my face.

"Woah!!!" I yelled, jumping back five feet, completely taken in by surprise. Then I regained my calmness and sighed. "You must be Kiki, I'm taking it?" Her head turned to the side.

It's eyes met mine and for a moment I was dazed. They just seemed so _familiar…_I shook my head fiercely. If I suddenly started believing in this weird connection between chara and animal, only to find out it's fake in a couple days, Amu would be devastated.

She's already gone through enough with this. I can see the stress and loneliness in her eyes everyday. No _way _am I going to make it worse for her.

But even with the promise, it's eyes still seemed to bore into mine, trying desperately to tell me a message I just couldn't make out.

"What do you want?" I asked it, no longer to keep up my enthusiasm. The cat threw it's head back into a loud, pitiful yowl. Then it looked up at me, its face even looking slightly annoyed.

A small ripple of shock rippled through me. How could this cat make such a human expression?!

Ugh… I can't believe I'm actually thinking like this… Maybe I'm getting hypothermia and it's messing my brain up.

I smiled and nodded at that thought. Downplaying your health is always a better excuse than downplaying your sanity. I grabbed the cat and finished the long walk back to my apartment.

**~Amu's POV~**

That night was a restless night as I never really did have a full dream, but continuous flashes of visions, each painful or horrifying in it's own unique way.

_…Tadase holding Kiki as her eyes seemed to burn. The dark red began to possess her eyes, making it seem as if blood were spilling into it-_

"…_Why?!" Miki was crying as she shook a small body laying on the ground. Everyone else continued to watch in shock, not knowing what to say-_

… _My own charas, each turning black and gray as small red 'X's replaced their original hair-pins-_

… _My own heart, practically snapping in two in my chest-_

… _A dark figure in the shadows with darkened cat eyes, glaring me down-_

… _Sudden red-_

… _No air-_

… _Ear-piercing screaming coming from a distance, not too far away-_

The short visions continued to flash through my head, some shorter than others, all haunting.

After a time that seemed to last forever, I finally woke up with sweat dripping down my face, and I was taking in short breaths at a rapid pace to match my heartbeat.

_What was that?! That dream… no, those dream__**s**__ were horrible… what… Why did I dream that?_

My eyes drifted downwards to look at my hands. They were shaking profusely. "I… Why did I dream that?!" I asked myself once more. A supposedly stronger question seemed to peck at my mind.

Was this going to come true as well?

Lately, I've been having prophetic dreams lately… could this be another one of those? Why _was _have having those dreams?

Ugh…. Lately it seems as if I can only come up with more questions. For a while I thought I would be away from all this… why did it have to come back?

Great. Another question to add to the pile.

**Neko-chan: I know, it's short, and I fail. . **

**I just got into a huge argument with a friend… she suddenly became an Ikutau fan… or not. She says she doesn't want to be, and she's trying not to be, but she's failing… miserably… it's stressful since Amuto is practically part of my religion now. -.-**

**Oh, and since I deserve it, I won't go off on anyone for my failure. -.- I'm taking forever to update and making the chapters unreasonably short. **


	9. Searching for an Answer

**CHANGED: 5/17/09! CHANGED: 5/17/09! CHANGED: 5/17/09! PLEASE DISREGARD ANY MISTAKES MADE BEFORE! GOMENASAI!**

**Neko-chan: Egh… I'm really beginning to dislike this story… I'm getting writers block again, but I've already taken too much of a break, so I am going to strain like a constipated person and get this chapter out there. **

**My main problem is finding a good way to get out the climax. It's only chapter 7, but I'm not sure how to keep it going without making it sound like crap… so whatever. God knows what I'll do next.**

**Summarized: Sorry if this sucks. It's getting complicated. **

**I do not own Shugo Chara**

**________________________________________________________________________ **

**Chapter 7**

**Searching for an Answer**

**~Amu's POV~**

The same old annoying alarm clock went off, and I sat up in bed with bags under my eyes. Ya know, I'm really starting to miss sleep. It's been quiet a while since I've actually seen it… or experienced it… Whatever.

Too sleepy. Can't think right… Can't talk right either, apparently…. Or think words…

Whatever.

I got up and got ready for school, and attempted to eat the food on the plate downstairs… but I forgot how to use chopsticks for some reason, so I gave up after a few minutes. As I was about to walk out the door, my mom was kind enough to remind me which shoe goes on what foot.

Today's gonna suck.

~At School~

It took me forever to get here… stupid cars. Can't they just slow down for just one second to let me by?! It's not my fault all this lack of sleep is making me retarded.

_~flashback~_

"_Amu! Watch out!" I just barely heard Miki yell over the rushing wind of the car that just missed me. _

"_STUPID KID!!!!" I could just hear him yelling out the window as he continued to drive away. _

"_Stupid… person!!!" I called back as I waved my arm in the air at him. It was supposed to look threatening, but it just ended up looking like a drunk person trying to serve a toast at a party._

_More cars whooshed by me as I stood in between the darned mess. "Ugh," I grunted with an annoyed tone as I sat down and waited for the light to become red once more. _

_~end flashback~_

Cursed cars. "Hey, Amu-chi! Guess wha- Oh my gosh, what happened to you?! You look like crap!"

Cursed Yayas asking questions and comparing me to 'crap'.

"Yeah, Amu. What happned?"

Cursed Nagihikos asking more questions.

"…"

Cursed Rimas with awkward silences and gay babies being born.

"Hinamori-san?"

Cursesd gay boys saying my name.

"Ugh," I responded to everyone at once. "Night Nigh~" My head plopped down on my desk.

"Himamori-san! No sleeping in class!"

Cursed teachers that can never say your name right.

Ya know what? Screw that. Let's sum it all up and just go with 'curse everything' right now.

~After School~

"Amu-cha~n!" Yaya whined annoyingly. "Why won't you talk to us?!"

"Cause I ne~yawn~ed to sleep…," I moaned. Why wouldn't anyone just leave me alone today and let me sleep?

"Amu, are you getting enough sleep? I've noticed you've been getting worse each day," Nagihiko asked worriedly. Rima was glaring at him from behind him, but I ignored it.

"No…. ~yawn~ I haven't, actually. It suuuucks…," I cried. "I can't stop thinking abou-"

"KIKI IS MISSING!!!!" Tadagay ran in squealing, rudely interrupting my complaint.

"What?!" everyone gasped at the same time… well, everyone except me. I suddenly feel like my problems have been overthrown by a cat I kindly let stay here.

"Where is she?" Nagihiko asked worriedly.

"I don't know!"

"We should go search for her!" Yaya proposed.

"Okay!" Tadagay agreed, and they all stormed out of the garden to search for her.

I feel so loved.

_*sigh* I guess I'll just go home. I'm too tired *yawn* to search for a cat… _

"Hey! Where ya' going?" a voice startled me from behind. I turned around and laughed.

"Gomen ne, I'm kinda jumpy lat~*yawn*~ely… and sleepy..."

He frowned at me. "Are getting enough sleep?"

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly, considering the same exact question was asked to me a few seconds ago, just before everyone ditched me. "No," I answered bluntly.

He sighed, then his eyes lit up as he turned around. "Oh yeah," he started, bending down to pick something up behind one of the bushes. "I found her. She yours?"

In his hands sat a grumpy looking Kiki. "REAWR!!!!" she hissed as she attempted to bite him.

"Kik-" before I could yell her name, Ikuto had grabbed her and held her by her scruff (fur on the back of the neck).

"Hey! I didn't do anything to you, so don't go trying to bite me!" he growled at it. I sweat-dropped. After a while of watching the cat glare him down, he just sighed and handed her to me.

"Thanks. Where did you find her?" I asked, stroking her back as I talked. Who knew that Kiki would like me better than the man who was pretty much half-cat himself?

"She was walking down the street late at night. I found her on my way home, but she's been very spoiled," he stopped to glare at Kiki for a moment. "For a cat, she sure can eat a lot. I swear, she's eat about half the food in my house already."

I felt myself tensioning up a bit, but I forced myself to relax. I _really _can't start getting jealous of a cat just because she was at Ikuto's house last night… even if it _is _kind of annoying… and rude of her to eat all the food…

"Mew!" came the cheery little squeak from behind me. I just laughed. "Tadagay's probably been spoiling her in the past few days. Don't worry about it."

**Neko-chan: Okay! New schedule going in place from now on! (I hope…)**

**  
I will update at least every Wednesday, maybe another one outside of the schedule, too, but there will always be a new chapter on Wednesday, and it will be at least 4 pages long. **

**Hopefully this works. -.- I have been failing at these two things lately, so maybe this will keep me updating at reasonable times. **

**WEEKLY RANTING OVER LATEST EPISODE!**

**I officially hate Peach Pit. WTF WITH THE BASEBALL. Not saying it's a bad sport or anything, but COME ON!!!**

Amu: "Oh! Ikuto's still missing, and we have absolutely no clue on how to save him, and a lot of this is because of me… LET'S PLAY BASEBALL!!!"

**And the next episode? A MUSIC FESTIVAL?! Isn't that like a slap in the face to Ikuto?**

**Amu: "Oh! Well, we **_**still **_**have no idea how to save Ikuto, so let's go to a festival celebrating the one thing that is pretty much keeping him possessed!"**

**DIDN'T WE ALREADY GO THROUGH ENOUGH FILLER EPISODE SHIT WITH THE PART AFTER EPISODE 66?!**

**Ugh… I swear, sometimes…. Ugh… I made a little vid on u-tube (hopefully the name won't be blocked out by saying it this way) about it. It kinda made me laugh. **

**If you want to see it, go on u-tube, and look up 'Ikuto slaps Amu' by IkutoxAmu4evr**


	10. The Embryo Arrives

**Neko-chan: OMG Peoples I am so sorry! I failed miserably last chapter! . I accidentally added the charas… GOMENASAI!! **

**So basically, the charas still aren't here… and I was stupid enough to add them in the story last chapter. I apologize. (I've been saying that in place of "I'm sorry" a lot lately…)**

**Also, Yaya may seem a bit OOC this chapter. As a matter of fact, there may be a lot of OOC-ness in the chapter. I apologize.**

**-Random Complaining-**

**Urgh… I have been making to many mistakes lately, even when I'm not writing the story. I fail at speaking English correctly (can't annunciate properly, scrabbling sentences, etc.), however I can speak Japanese fairly well. Well, at least I think I'm doing good. Who knows. I may fail at that, too.**

**-Random Complaining over-**

**I DO NOT OWN SHUGO CHARA, AND THE CHARAS HAVE NOT RETURNED IN THIS FANFICTION. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT READ THESE LITTLE PRE-MESSAGES ARE SCREWED AND WILL PROBABLY BE CONFUSED AS CRAP.**

**Chapter 8**

**The Embryo Arrives**

**~Amu's POV~**

"… And that's how you find the square root of nine," Nikaidou-sensei rambled on. My eyes watched in a daze out the window as I only half-listened to his lecture.

I found myself just watching the clouds float by, watching the wind blow them gently away. Each layer of the clouds had it's own pace.

The clouds on the bottom taking their sweet time getting to their places while the ones on the top raced by. The one little cloud in the middle going in the completely opposite direction…

So pretty.

My eyebrows creased as I sensed something wasn't right. Wait… why was the one cloud going the other way? Was it an angel?

I tried to focus my eyes on it better, but it seemed impossible with my blurred eyes due to lack of sleep.

"What… is… that?" I whispered to myself as my eyes strained to get a better look at it. The effort was becoming painful.

"Amu!" Nagihiko hissed through his teeth from behind me. I turned back to look at him. His pencil was furiously jabbing at something he wrote on his paper.

"Huh?" I looked closer. Em…bry…o? "Embryo?!" I exclaimed a tad to loudly. The kid in front of us turned to look at us with a curious look.

"What are you guys talking about with an embryo?" he asked.

"Shh!" I shushed with a finger pressed against my lips.

Too loud. Nikaidou-sensei looked up at us. "Himamori-san, Fujisaki-san, please come out into the hallway with me for a moment."

We followed behind him. I don't know about Nagihiko, but I was a bit nervous. When we reached outside, he turned to look at us. "So what's the problem? Were you the one that said embryo?"

"Yes, gomenasai, Nikaidou-sensei! I didn't mean t-"

"Amu, I worked for Easter once before. I know what you mean when you talk about the Embryo."

My face lit up. Oh yeah! How could I have forgotten about him? "The Embryo! We saw it outside!" I exclaimed excitedly. His eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Really? Do you think you can still catch it?"

"Definitely!"

"Well here, I'll make you a pas-"

I couldn't wait. I took off running towards the exit. "Sorry, sensei! I can't wait that long!" I waved at him apologetically, then raced out the school doors.

Nagihiko took a few seconds longer to reach the outside world. My eyes began to search frantically for the white glowing egg.

"There!" I turned behind me to see Rima pointing up at the sky. I guess she made it out here, too.

My eyes darted to where her finger was pointing. I could barely spot the thing as it floated in front of the clouds.

"Okay, let me- …" I was about to give an order to let me get it, but I stopped.

"Amu-chi? What's wrong?" Yaya asked, also somehow managing to meet us.

"I… I can't do it."

"Huh?" Nagihiko asked worriedly.

"I can't do it!" I yelled frantically. Tears were forming on the rims of my eye as I began to reach hysteria. "I can't get it! I don't have a character transformation anymore!" I stared at all my present friends as they looked at me with wide eyes. Suddenly, Yaya's face darkened.

"… It's… It's MINE!!!" She jumped up into the sky, racing towards the glowing white egg. Rima flinched only once before jumping up only inches behind her.

"No! It's mine! I need it more than you!" she growled fiercely.

Behind me, Nagihiko began to look around frantically, cursing under his breath as he attempted to find a way up to the egg.

The school doors busted open as Tadase came flying out and using his 'Holy Crown' attack to spring himself up into the sky. In a second he quickly passed Rima and Yaya, leaving them frozen in the air with shocked faces.

"Finally! World Domination is Mine!" Tadase and Kiseki screamed at the same time. His hand ended just an inch away from the egg, but he stopped abruptly, grunting in pain as he did so.

Rima's 'Tightrope Dancer' was coiled tightly around his leg, and with pure rage Rima flung him back. At the last second, he used his 'Holy Crown' once more to shield him from a painful crash with the school building.

I saw him look up and glare at Rima. Then his eyes widened as Rima was knocked painfully to the ground by Yaya's giant rattle.

I heard Nagihiko's gasp from behind me as he bolted towards Rima, frantically calling out her name.

My legs were trembling now as I continued to watch the scene unfold in front of me. Naghiko was crying as he hovered above a bleeding Rima-chan. Tadase continued to kill Yaya while standing on a small staircase by the school window in case of fire.

My mind was going through pure shock. All I could do was stand there with my mouth gaping open. A few of the tears tasted salty as the fell on to my tongue.

What was happening? Did I cause all this?

I momentarily snapped out of my frozen state as I heard a scream. Tadase had somehow managed to get Yaya down to the Earth as well.

"I swear, NOTHING WILL GET IN MY WAY! NOTHING!!!!" he yelled.

As I stared into his face, all I could do was wonder,

How did I ever come to love this man? His face was coiled in pure hatred towards his supposed friends. He just shoved one of them to the ground, possible injuring her for life. How could I ever have thought that Ikuto was the evil one, when the intense darkness clearly showed through his eyes right now?

He raised his head up to the sky and let out a sickening type of laughter. Then, he sprung back into the sky, rocketing towards the Embryo with lightening speed.

Through my minds eye, I clearly saw the future he had in mind.

Everyone all under his rule.

The poor forever having to work as slaves.

The wealthy forever being rich.

The most common punishment: Death.

He wasn't going to be the 'Kind King' he had always come off as. He wanted to go back to the Dark Ages… the times when Kings ruled and people were born into their roles.

He wanted to see people die.

I couldn't stand it any longer. The shaking in my legs had spread throughout my body, and I couldn't keep my balance. My knees gave out from under me, and I screamed the most blood-chilling scream I ever thought possible.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**Neko-chan: … I know I'm going to have some people killing me over this ending.**

**Ikuto: Hell yeah!**

**Amu: Look at what you left them with!**

**Neko-chan: Hey! O.o You guys haven't been here in a while!**

**Amu: Yeah, sorry. I've been having to go through crap with a lot of Amuto fans going off on me-**

**Neko-chan: AND YOU DESERVE IT.**

**Ikuto: Hey! Don't yell at her!  
**

**Neko-chan: Okay! ^-^ **

**Yoru: *sweatdrop* Mood change much?**

**Neko-chan: Yep! Anyways, be prepared for the next cliffy next Wednesday! C U L8R!!!**

**Oh, and I thank all of you that watched my 'Ikuto Slaps Amu' video! **

**~REVIEW ON EPISODE 83~**

**I cried. I really did. I was practically EMO the next 2 days. Now I'm just really friggen PO-ed about the next episode. **

**Seriously Peach Pit (or whoever owns the anime. I can't remember, but I do remember someone telling me someone else owns the anime), another one? You put that kind of ending, and then add another filler episode? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?**

**~REVIEW ON EPISODE 83 OVER~**


	11. A Glimpse of Hope

**Neko-chan: Okay Peoples. I have something to say.**

**First, I apologize for the lateness of this. Last night, I had fully intended to update, but then storms started coming in and I had to turn off my computer an hour early. **

**Second, I am hearing more and more of my friends (if you don't wanna be called a friend, just let me know) say that they have stopped watching the anime. **

**It's heart-breaking. Have you all **_**really**_** lost that much hope in a happy ending? O.o Also, if you look at all those polls made, You'll find out that, really, there are almost 2x as many Amuto fans than Tadamu. Either that, or Tadamu fans are just way less active. **

**Don't you think the anime directors will want to go with the majority, or at least the people who they know are out there wanting to watch Amuto and not Tadamu? With a lot of those higher-up peoples, there are only two things going on in mind: Money and Power. So they are obviously going to want to make more money off of obsessed Amuto fans then make half as much on Tadamu and end up with a riot of Pissed off Amuto fans outside the building. **

**Either way, just please don't loose hope in the anime. The less Amuto fans there are out there watching it, the more likely they'll make a Tadamu ending. In fact, I'm changing my username back to **_**Amuto-**_**fan-Neko-san instead of **_**Ikuto-**_**fan-Neko-san just to help the cause. So please, just don't give up. AMUTO WILL PROVAIL!**

**Ikuto: *cries* So touched…**

**Amu: *sighs***

**Neko-chan: Okay, so now I'm kinda sad cause I know over half of you won't read that, but oh well. Here's the next chapter. Also, I'm gonna try to make this chapter a bit longer than usual. I may fail though, so don't get your hopes too high. **

**I Don't Own Shugo Chara**

**Also, due to request (and to help make up for the late day), I am going to try to make this one just a bit longer. **

**Chapter 9**

**A Glimpse of Hope**

**~Amu's POV~**

_**~flashback~**_

_He wanted to see people die._

_I couldn't stand it any longer. The shaking in my legs had spread throughout my body, and I couldn't keep my balance. My knees gave out from under me, and I screamed the most blood-chilling scream I ever thought possible._

"_NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_**~End Flashback~**_

My entire body was suddenly engulfed in the familiar white light as words I haven't said in too long instinctively came out of my mouth.

"Watashi no Kokoro… Unlock!" Beautiful colorful swirls began to twirl around me as bright clothes began to exchange with the ones I was wearing before. Looking down, I could see them come on to me with a bright orange glow.

Once I saw the two long cloths began to form near the bottom of the short dress, I gasped. "Dia!"

Multiple emotions began to take over at once, and it seemed to silence me from talking any more.

_Amu-chan! Now! Stop him before he grabs the Embryo! _Dia's voice rang loud and clear through my head as if she had never left.

_AMU! _I shook my head roughly to shake everything I wanted to say to her away. Apparently, Tadase had stopped when I yelled, because despite the immense momentum he had used earlier, gravity was beginning to affect him now. He cursed himself in the air and began to shout the words that would get him up to the Embryo once more, but I wouldn't let him.

"Hol-"

"Heart Rod!" I yelled. Seconds after, the light-weight pink stick with little red hearts at the end formed in my hands.

"Spiral Heart Special!" I threw it with amazing speeds up in front of Tadase, blocking him from the embryo. He turned to glare at me.

"Amu! This is mine! I deserve this more than anyone! I am never able to stick up for myself, and now because of you everyone in this school looks down on me with pitying looks! Ikuto killed my dog, and now my grandmother is dying!" he yelled down at me with rage.

"SO WHAT! GET OVER YOURSELF, STUPID! THESE ARE THINGS YOU COULD EASILY FIX EVERY GOD DAMN DAY IF YOU JUST GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!"

I could barely see him up in the sky so high, but I saw his eyes sadden a bit, and he began to fall down to the ground. One of my feet took a quick step forward as my hand reached out, but the other foot refused to follow. _Amu… It's too late. He will never be that kind person you knew, even loved at first. The shine in his heart is too far gone to be revived._

"But-!"

_Just let him fall, Amu. Just let him fall. _

My foot came and fell back by my other one that had stayed in place from the start, and my head turned to the side while I tried my best to keep from crying.

At first, the only sounds that I heard were Nagihiko's upset sobs and the whooshing of the air as Tadase's body fell helplessly to the ground.

And then there was the crash. The sound of it sent a gut-wrenching chill through my body, upsetting me far worse than I had anticipated.

Slowly, my I raised my head to look at the fallen boy. Blood covered him in many places. The dark red surprisingly calmed me down. It seemed to call out to me through the wind.

He was going to die soon.

Despite the fact that it should have scared the living hell out of me, it seemed to bring a slight sense of numbness and melancholy. The strange smile that showed far too many emotions rose to my face as I began to walk towards him.

As I got closer, I could get a better look at him. His right arm was clearly broken, seen by the way it seemed to have 2 elbows. Through the blood smeared on his torso I could barely see a distorted version of my reflection.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in a barely audible tone. "I never meant it to end this way. At first, I really did believe in you, and I truly believed I loved you… but that was just my mistake. I was too busy following the crowd to see the real evil behind your mask of innocence."

"I hate yo-" He was only half a second away from finishing his sentence when his body began to convulse. Blood began to bubble up out of his throat, and I knew that it would very soon be over.

"…you." He choked out his last word, and then his body gave one last convulse. The life in his eyes dispersed, and his head fell down to the ground.

He was dead.

On auto-pilot, I walked over to Nagihiko as he hovered above Rima. He didn't seem to notice me at first, but when I reached out to grab her hand, he flinched. I stopped only for a second so he wouldn't be too freaked out, almost as if I were treating him like a frightened stray puppy. Then I reached out and put my index and middle finger on her wrist.

I could still feel the light throbbing underneath them. _*thump thump* *thump thump* _

"She's still alive," I told him. "but we need to get her to a hospital. I'll run and get Nikaido and see if he can drive us."

"That won't be necessary." Quickly turning around, I tensed, preparing for another fight. As soon as I saw who it was, I let my guard fall a bit.

"Tsukasa-sensei **(In case you don't remember, he's the tall superintendent dude who looks like a tall version of Tadagay.)**. How did you know?"

His face stiffened. "There is no time for that now. We must get Rima and Yaya to the hospital. Nagihiko, you get this one on your back," he said, referring to the unconscious Rima. "Take her down to the blue minivan. Amu, you go get Yaya."

Nagihiko stumbled for a second on his way to pick her up. "Wait, what about Hotori-kun?" he asked. I could feel my face drop.

"He is unable to recover. I will go in and explain to the school to use the other entrance and make up an excuse to the teachers and staff."

"Unable to… What do you mean?" Nagihiko asked, still unable to comprehend what was being said. Then his eyes glided to where his corpse lay. He took in a deep intake of air.

"He… He's dead? But why?"

By now, his eyes were widening with pure shock. I couldn't blame him.

Even though I knew that Nagihiko, too, was beginning to dislike Tadase, he was still a friend at first. And even though he had become an enemy, you only seem to remember the times when he was once on your side when you look into his lifeless eyes. **(Ugh… I'm sorry. I hate him, but this is Amu were talking about, and you know how retarded she can be. Amu: HEY!)**

~At the Hospital~

I'm not sure what Tsukasa-sensei made up, but I'm not too worried about it right now.

Why did I have to go into the hospital, too?

Better yet, why did they have to call my parents?

I lay here bored on the uncomfortable hospital bed with my father crying in the corner, my mom standing next to me trying to comfort me, and Ikuto stand next to her, trying to talk to me but failing miserably since my mom was in 'I'm-an-overly-protective-mother' mode and wouldn't move an inch away from me.

"Mom, I'm okay, I promise!" I told her, trying to keep my voice down.

"Oh sweety! I know! It's okay! Mommy's here!" She leaned down and hugged me tightly. I sighed, blushing with embarrassment. Why did she always have to act in some ultra embarrassing way whenever Ikuto was around?

"Mooooommm…" I groaned, looking over her shoulder towards Ikuto. He was holding a sign in front of his face.

_How did you character transform?_ It read. I let out a gasp and bolted up right. "Honey?" my mom asked worriedly. I ignored her for the moment as I searched the room.

_Dia? Dia?! Where are you?!_

There was no response, however, I did feel a presence stir within me.

_Dia!!! Don't you go leaving me again! Stay!_

_I'm sorry, Amu. I shouldn't have come out… I just had to for a moment. It was an emergency situation. I have to go now-_

_No you don't! Stop doing this to me! _I could feel my teeth clenching together as I strained to hold my tears in once more.

"Mom… can I please talk with Ikuto for a minute?" I asked as politely as possible, trying not to upset her too much.

I could see her face fall, but she nodded and dragged herself and my father out of the room.

"Amu?" Ikuto asked with a questioning look. Despite the tough face he always puts on as to not worry me all the time, his desperation stood out through his words.

My lips pulled away a bit to reveal my clenched teeth. "She's here," I responded.

_Dia, I'm not letting you leave this time. Why can't you just stay here? _

_Amu… _

"What's she saying?"

"She's trying to leave, and I'm not letting her."

_Tell me!_

_Amu, I…I can't. We are part of your heart now. Once you confessed with Ikuto, your heart was ready to become whole, so we-_

_Oh don't give me this shit! You think my heart has suddenly become whole just because you have hidden away?! It's torn my heart into pieces! You should know that now by how much I've gone through in the past few weeks! How do I get you guys back?!_

_I…We… I don't know… _I could hear the despair in her voice. She really didn't know, but she wanted to. She wanted out of their just as much as I did, and it left me heartbroken.

_I have heard you talking to me before… can't we just settle with this for now? We can try to figure a way out of this together! _I was beginning to plead and beg now.

_But…it… we're not supposed to. It might-_

_I don't care what it might do! I just want you-_

_Amu, no. You _do _care. _My stubborn side began to rise to play, subconsciously also attempting to get her to stay.

_Fine then. What is it?! _

_You might loose your love in Ikuto._

My heart skipped a beat. Two… Three… I took a breath in sync with my next heartbeat. I might loose my love in Ikuto?

_Or forget him completely. _

This time, my heart didn't stop, nor did my breath. I could feel the _*doki doki* _of my heart through all of my veins as I began to hyperventilate.

"Amu! Get a hold of yourself! What's wrong?" Ikuto was in front of me now, holding on to my shoulders, prepared to shake me once again to regain my sanity.

"She… she says that it might make me loose my love in you." As I said it, I felt the tension his hand had on my shoulders once before loosen, and his arms fell to the bed beside him as if he were a rag doll. His head fell a bit as well, making his bangs cast a dark shadow in front of his eyes.

The entire planet seemed to stop in place, holding it's breath for the sentence to come.

"Well… do you want to take the chance?" He lifted his head only a little bit, just to where I could see the intense lack of emotion in his eyes.

"Ikuto, I… I…. I'm not sure… I don't want to live without either…"

He smiled the same sad smile he always seemed to use around me. "Amu, I know how much you want them back, and it's not as though it's absolutely certain it will be gone."

Despite the effort, his words didn't seem to help much.

"Amu, we're going to try. I can't stand to see you like this for much longer."

"But," I paused, holding my hand to my chest to try and stop the aching pain lingering inside. "I don't want to loose you. She says I might even completely forget you!"

And he lifted his head completely. "Well then, I'll just regain your love once more, just like I did when we first met. We'll make another new beginning, just like you told me at the amusement park."

A small tear fell down my cheek, and I sniffled. Reluctantly, I smiled up at him.

"Okay."

**Neko-chan: Okay, so I **_**think **_**that's longer, considering how many longer paragraphs I used this time, but it may be the same exact length. If so, I deeply apologize. **

**Amu: Aww… *sniffle* I don't want to loose my love for Ikuto-**

**Neko-chan: YOU ADMIT IT! HA! AITORA! DID YOU GET THAT ON TAPE?!**

**Aitora: Yes, I- …**

**Neko-chan: What?!**

**Aitora: AH GOD DANGET! I LEFT THE CAP ON THE VIDEO CAMERA!!!!  
**

**Neko-chan: You have got to be freakin kidding me… SHIT**

**Aitora: Gomenasai…**

**Neko-chan: *sigh* Ah well. I'll catch Amu saying on tape **_**sometime. **_

**Amu: No you won't! *sticks out tongue***

**Neko-chan: *pulls out knife* Wanna bet?**

**Amu: AAAHHHH! JESUS CHRIST! ARE YOU INSANE?!**

**Neko-chan: Actually, I am. Thanks for noticing. **


	12. A Rimahiko Story

**Neko-chan: Okay, I have some news to say, and I am beginning to feel really useless.**

**Amu: Jesus, Please don't. I've got enough X-eggs to-**

**Neko-chan: YOU SHUT UP. YOU DON'T GET TO TALK ANYMORE TILL IKUTO IS FREE FROM EASTER!!!!**

**Amu: But he's right here!**

**Ikuto: … **

**Neko-chan: IN THE ANIME, DIP-SHIT! **

**Amu: Oh…**

**Neko-chan: *flips the 'Ignore Amu' Switch.* **

***red light with words 'IGNORING AMU' flash above the house***

**  
Amu: HEY!**

**Neko-chan: Well, you see, being a normal teenager, I held things off to the last minute, and I realized something. Tomorrow through Sunday, I will be off at my dads, and since he is to obsessed with his computer, despite the fact that my computer down there is broken, I am not able to create writing documents down there and post them on the internet because it 'takes up too much space'.**

**Amu: But those hardly take up any room at all!**

***cricket chirp***

**  
Ikuto: *sighs* But those hardly take up any room at-**

**Neko-chan: I Know! He's freaking 40, yet he's too stubborn to share that much room on his Extremely-high-quality-with-tons-of-space-computer!**

**Amu: *grunts and crosses arms, pouting***

**Neko-chan: Anyways, I'm going to have to change my update day to Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. I'll have to see about how much time I have when I get back home this Sunday. Until then, I apologize x1000, and here's the very short side story. Kind of like a filler, but only to hold off until Sunday.**

**Neko-chan: Sorry if there is any OOC-ness in here.**

**Ikuto: I thought you were against fillers…?**

**Neko-chan: I am, but I don't think this one is too bad. It's more like an OVA (to those of you who don't know, and OVA is like a little extra episode they normally create at the end of an anime that fits in the general area of the middle of the anime, but was just left out due to lack of major importance. It can be a small funny side story, or it can be from another characters point of view during a certain scene.) than a filler. It's from Rima's POV in the hospital.**

**Dia: Neko-chan does not own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 9 (OVA)**

**A Rimahiko Story**

**~Rima's POV~**

All I could remember when I first regained consciousness was that I had heard crying a bit ago. Slowly regaining more and more presence within myself, I could hear a small noise coming from somewhere in the room with me.

It was coming from beside me. By the sounds of it, it was a person. They had an odd breathing pattern, and they were sniffling frequently.

It was the person who was there before I blacked out. They were still crying. I tried to open my eyelids the same way I would if I were waking up from a normal night, but it didn't work. Despite the fact that I was no longer tired, my eyelids still felt the need to droop.

"Rima, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Gomenasai. Gomen… *sniffle*" Reorganization flashed through my body. It was Nagihiko. My body made a useless attempt to move, to show that I was awake, to merely speak, but it ended in vain. Nagihiko continued.

"Please, don't die. You can't. There are just so many things that I need to say to you that I haven't… I- … I…" he trailed off and sniffled once more. I could hear the random cracks in his voice where the tears attempted to ruin his words.

"I know you probably can't hear me, but I need to tell you anyway," he paused. _I can hear you! I am awake now! _I began to strain at my jello-like muscles, feeling the strangest need to comfort him.

"First of all, I want to say I'm sorry for all those times I may have appeared mean or rude to you. I promise, if I could go back, I would change that completely so that I knew you were happy." Desperation clawed at me. _But I was happy! I was, I just- … I just…_I began to trail off just like he did.

He continued once more, "Second of all, I want to apologize for this secret I have kept from you for so long; all of you, in fact. You, Amu, and Yaya… I should have told you a while back. I lied to you all when we first met." I paused once more in my attempts to say something as shock coursed through my veins. What could in the world could he lie about? Better yet, _why?_

"Well, I suppose the second time we met for Yaya and Amu, but with you… one of the first things I ever told you was a lie. I'm not Nadeshiko's twin brother. I… I _am_ Nadeshiko. I was always a boy, but my mother forced me to live as a girl for the first 11 years of my life… I'm sorry," he took another breath. "I was afraid that you wouldn't accept me like this… but I never thought about the fact that I would have to end up telling you like this…"

He paused once more, and I could hear the slightest chuckle in between sniffles. "Well, I guess I did, but no one ever really thinks it would actually happen to them. I guess I made a big mistake, huh?" _Nagihiko… it's not your fault. Anyone would be afraid if they were in that situation. _ My thoughts paused for a second. _Wait… why am I trying to comfort him like this? I was so sure that I hated him, but… _

"Please, if you really do have to pass on, just hear this last thing, that's all I ask." I tensed once more. What else was there? What could there possibly be that he hasn't said yet?

"I know, I probably sound stupid for saying this, especially considering how much you hate me," My heart clenched at that. _I could never hate him. Ever. I feel stupid for even thinking that now. But if I don't hate him, what else is there?_ Nagihiko continued, "but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what it was at first, and once I knew, I tried to stop it."

He gave another chuckle, "but I just couldn't. Rima, I… despite all the mean things you can say to others, and despite how much you can't stand me, I still can't help it!" His voice began to rise, and my entire body tensed up once more. This time, I could hear the machine that counts your heart-beats-per-minute speed up.

"I love you!" he cried out. For I don't know how long, everything seemed to freeze but my heart, which felt like it was going to burst out of my chest at any moment. Then, with one last grunt of effort, I put all the force I could into getting up. I heard his startled gasp of both relief and surprise.

My body was now in an upright position. "…Rima?" Not seeming nearly as hard now, I opened my eyes to gaze at him. His cheeks were wet, and his cheeks were completely red. Though most of it was done by crying, I think that a little bit was because he was… blushing. The realization made me blush too, but I smiled.

"Rima… did you…?" he spoke uncertainly, not even finishing the question in fear of the answer.

"I love you, too." The statement came as a surprise to myself, even as I spoke it, but as I did, I was suddenly sure that that was what the feeling was. I never hated Nagihiko, I only loved him sincerely, but was too embarrassed and stubborn to realize that.

He leaned over and gave me a gentle hug, which I happily returned, still careful not to injure myself any further. "Thank you," he whispered.

The words acted like a spell. Suddenly, the deep weight that seemed to hold my body down before was falling back onto my body like a river; smoothly but quickly. His arms gently helped guide my body back down to the bed, and without my approval, closed.

"Sweet dreams," the last thing I felt before drifting back into the unconsciousness, was the light touch of his lips on my forehead. "Goodnight."


	13. Attempt at Escape

**Neko-chan: I apologize, but I'm going to start out with a rant.**

***RANT WARNING***

**Me right after the episode: "Okay, so I have to admit, it was pretty good for a filler. It took up 2 episodes, and there was another filler before that, so now they need to go back to Ikuto. I had a dream where Ikuto and Amu kissed last night, so hopefully that's a good sign." *preview starts* "… Oh no! Nana-chan is sick! …" Okay, so normally, I like Nana. She's cute and funny, but not today. SCREW NANA. She may have a small fever for a bit! SO WHAT? Who gives a damn? **_**Ikuto's **_**been in pain for **_**HOW LONG NOW**_**? **

***RANT OVER***

**Though I am desperately afraid to make yet another promise, I'm going to start trying to update more than once a week.**

**Amu: She's not going to keep the promise. Don't get their hopes up.**

**Neko-chan: First off, I don't wanna hear that shit coming from you, miss "Oh, don't worry, Yoru! I'll help you save Ikuto!". Second of all, I'm at least going to **_**try**_**, unlike you.**

**Amu: But-**

**Neko-chan: No. Now I'm going to apologize to Mirror for Chara neglect.**

**Mirror: Yay! *hugs Neko-chan* Neko-chan doesn't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 10 **

**Attempt at Escape**

**Amu's POV**

That night, I lay in the hospital bed with my eyes glued to the ceiling. Ikuto was forced to leave by the employees because it was 'too late'. Stupid rule.

_Amu?_ The voice came from in the depths of my mind, speaking nervously.

_Yes, Ran? _I responded. I was having troubles paying attention. My mind felt numb as it tried to make sense of everything that had been happening.

_You know, we'll all love you, no matter what decision you make. _I tried to force a smile, but couldn't. I could hear the silent plea for help in her words, as well as her strained effort to hide it.

_I know. _I told her, trying to put as much comfort in those words as I could. _And I thank you for that. _My body felt strained as I longed to hug them all. _I'll do my best to make the right decision._

_Kay. _Through the darkness of the room, I could almost see her giving that little wink with her head tilted sideways; her mouth in one wide smile.

My heart clenched. I wanted to save them so badly… but how could I leave the love of my life? After all, he gave up so much time just waiting for me to finally realize my feelings while I chased after a gay, greedy boy. It would just feel like such a huge _betrayal… _

And what about Yoru? Is he still there, hiding within Ikuto's heart?

My heart skipped a beat, and my breath got caught in my throat. What if… What if Ikuto forgot about me? What if he gave up that sacrifice to be with Yoru? Tears stung my eyes. _Isn't that the same decision I'm making with my charas?_

Numbness seemed to spread throughout my entire body, engulfing me with confusion and fear. How was I going to do this? What was I supposed to do? Can't I just have both? They are both too dear to me! I can't give one up for the other! What should I…

I gasped in fear at the dark thought that entered my mind. I had seen it before, only in another form. It was dark and graceful, and despite the great pain that could be caused from it, it seemed to draw others in slowly and give an eternal rest…

_Amu! No! _Ran was back in an instant.

_Don't think about that! _Miki said with an astonished tone.

_Death isn't the answer! _Suu yelled.

_You can't possibly be thinking about that! Don't give up on your shine that easily! _Dia scolded, trying to be firm, but it was obvious she was panicking.

But so was I. I was panicking, too. My eyes skimmed the room instinctively, and I caught a glimmer of the tool on a nearby shelf.

A knife.

My heart was beating way to fast to be healthy. The dark thought was dancing around in my mind, pulling me away from my charas.

_Yeesss… _it seemed to call, moving gracefully like a snake, as well as it's words. _It will free you from it all… You can escape this. You won't _have _to make the decision at all. It will all be over…_

It guided my feet towards the edge of the bed, pulling me into a sitting position.

_AMU!!! NO!!! _my charas were screaming inside me.

Slowly, I slid out of the bed, barely making a sound as my feet rested onto the cold tile beneath it. My eyes were completely focused on the knife.

_*Doki Doki* *Doki Doki*_

_This will solve everything, right? _I took a step towards it.

_Yeessss…_

_No Amu! Don't be tempted! _I took another step towards it. Then another.

_It will make all the confusion and pain go away forever… _I took the last step. I was standing right in front of the knife.

_Amu! Turn back right now! You can't do this! _ Miki scolded.

_I… I have to. I can't make a decision. I can't leave one of you behind to be with the other. I just can't!_

My hand shakily reached up and took hold of the knife. I could clearly see the fine edge of the curved side.

_Yes. It would only take a simple slice to the throat to end this all… _the dark voice continued to draw me in. My normal self control seemed helpless against it. Either that, or it too had given up on trying to deal with the constant confusion.

My hand slowly brought the knife up to my neck, just about a centimeter away. Tears continued to silently slide down my cheeks, making the slightest _*splat* _as each one hit the floor, though obviously no one would hear that. It was as insignificant as my effort. Pointless. Worthless.

I'll get it over now. 1… 2…

_Are you sure this is the way out. _My eyes widened as Aitora's voice echoed throughout my entire body, almost as dark as the entity that guided me towards this situation.

_Yes! It will get rid of all this stress and confusion! I can finally live in peace!_

_What about Ikut?. _My knees began to shake. What would Ikuto do when he found out I died?

_What about your mom? Your dad? Ami? What about all your friends? Don't tell me you honestly believe that they would go on living a happy life without you. Your pain might disappear from you, but it would double up on all your loved ones. _

I choked as the remaining strength within me collapsed. My knees lost their support, and I fell to the cold ground, hugging the knife as if it were a teddy bear.

"Gomenasai… Gomenasai… I won't leave… I promise… Gomenasai… Gomenasai…"

The dark entity that was guiding me towards a horrible end was completely gone. I was gasping as I cried like a child.

Soon the doctors busted in and were asking too many questions at once. I couldn't respond to any. My mind had numbed once more, and all I could do was utter small whispers of apology as I cried myself to sleep.

**Neko-chan: … I think I got this chapter out using all the depression the anime has built up on me… **

**Amu: THAT WAS HORRIBLE! YOU ALMOST MADE ME COMMIT SUICIDE!!!**

**Neko-chan: Yeah… it would have been great if there wasn't a chance of Ikuto escaping and being able to end up with you.**

**Ikuto: I don't know if I should be flattered that you want me to be happy, or ticked off because you just tried to kill my girlfriend.**

**Amu: WHAT?! SINCE WHEN AM I YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!!!**

**Neko-chan: *currently glomping Ikuto***

**Ikuto: … since the beginning of this sequel?**

**Amu: BUT THIS WON'T HAPPEN IN THE REAL THING! IT'S ONLY PRETEND!!!**

**Neko-chan: *glares* Say that again, and I will kill you **_**personally**_**.**

**Amu: *cowering***

***ALL AMUTO FANS, PLEASE DON'T SKIP THE FOLLOWING!! NO MATTER WHAT!!!! IT COULD CHANGE YOUR VIEW ON A CURRENTLY POPULAR SONG!!!***

****************************************************************************

**Neko-chan: I hate Kelly Clarkson now. I currently believe she has gone evil, and is a Tadamu fan. I believe that she made the song, "My life would suck without you" just for the Tadamu AMVs. Listen care- actually, you don't even have to listen carefully. In the song, it clearly sounds like she says, "And Tadase! My life! Would Suck! Withooouuut you!"**

**I noticed that, and I feel ultra depressed. I used to love that song, too. Now… *shivers* I am already feeling multiple things because of the constant lack of Amuto in both the anime **_**and **_**the manga, such as: Depression, Hysteria, Insaneness, Lack of Sleep, Random Mood Swings**

**Neko-chan: Well, you get the point.**

**Tadase: Hey! What's so- **

**Neko-chan: KYAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *goes into ultra insane mood and stabs Tadagay multiple times in the chest***

**Tadase: * blood gurgling in throat***

**Neko-chan: *huffing***

**Everyone: O.o**

**Neko-chan: *sighs and immediately snaps back to… supposedly normal state* Ah. I needed that. Anyways, see you all sometime soon. **

**PRESS THIS BUTTON**


	14. Making a Decision

**Neko-chan: YAY! I'm keeping my promise by updating more than once a week. Now if only Amu could keep **_**her **_**promises…**

**Amu: I hate you.**

**Neko-chan: Eh. Feelings mutual. Egh… I guess I can't say that. Some people are telling me I'm going a bit too far with the killing of Tadase and almost Suicide of Amu… Someone also said that I should stop blaming Tadase. **

**I can try to tone it down some, but my stories are greatly affected by how the anime is going. If the manga is good, then it affects it too. Right now, the anime is horrible. When it's horrible, I feel at a loss, and then I go depressive. So that explains some of the… **_**less kind **_**but if I continue to get comments like these, I won't be able to write the fanfictions. I can't help it if I put my current emotions into the story. If I don't, then I feel like I'm using a tooth pick against a giant writers block made of steel. I just have nothing to go on. I said chapters lately. I apologize if you disliked them. I honestly will try to tone it down, this before, but I don't **_**plan **_**anything. This story is just as much a surprise to me as it is you all. I just kinda imagine this plot going in my mind, and as I imagine what happens next, I write it down. **

**Anyways, here I go. Though, I'm going kinda depressed right now after writing this, so it will probably be sad. I'll try and give it a happy ending. Also, I'll give more news afterwards.**

**Mirror: Neko-chan doesn't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 11**

**Making a Decision**

**Ikuto's POV**

I was sleeping comfortably at home when my cell phone rang. **(Hm… I wonder if Ikuto really **_**does **_**have a cell phone?) **My hand clumsily reached over for it on the dresser, and ended up knocking it down.

I moaned. Who is calling me at this time of night? I sat up, leaned down, and picked up the phone off of the floor. The caller ID was flashing. My eyes widened as I saw it. "Amu?" I flipped it open and held the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Ikuto! This is Amu's mother. Amu- last night she almost committed suicide! You need to get over here as soon as possible!" her frantic voice pleaded in my ear. I almost dropped the phone.

_Amu was thinking of… of Suicide?! _I threw the phone on the ground and flung my window open. Gracefully, I jumped out, and then began sprinting towards the hospital.

_Amu…why?_

**~Narrator's POV~**

Amu sat in a heap on the bed. It had been hours, and tears continued to leak from her swollen, red eyes. Her sore throat hoarsely choked out apology after apology, and still, no body knew why.

"Amu, honey, please! Tell me what's wrong," her mother begged. Amu continued to stare at the ground with her eyes slightly glazed over.

"Hinamori-san, I do believe that she won't speak for quite some time. What ever it was, she must have experienced something terrible during those few moments of contemplating her death," the doctor chided with a hand on the confused mother's shoulder. She shrugged it off, but got up anyway. Mrs. Hinamori sighed in defeat as she looked down at her child.

"I… I just wish I could have helped. I wish I could have known that she was facing these troubles. It makes me feel so…," she paused to sniffle, and then sighed again. "Never mind. There are too many different words I could use to describe it. I'm not even going to try to list them all." As if the entire night had suddenly caught up to her, she slowly walked over to a chair and slumped down, feeling completely exhausted.

Her eyelids gently fell, unable to hold themselves up any longer. However, her ears remained alert, and she couldn't help but tense as the doors to the room creaked open.

It was an odd human instinct, to somehow, just _know things_. Hinamori-san knew who it was that had just walked. And, she knew her daughter knew, too.

For the first time since the incident, Amu looked up from the ground to gaze at the tall, blue-haired man who had just walked in. "I…kuto…?" Her eyes squinted as they gained a bit of their natural color back. He was completely still, and he appeared to gaze right through her.

Amu seemed to recoil as the hard glare pounded reality back into her. "Ikuto! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I really didn't!" She jumped up and hugged him tightly. Despite the sudden amount of energy that nearly knocked him over, his expression didn't change. All he did was merely tilt his head to watch the girl embracing him.

"Ikuto?" she questioned, looking up into his eyes with a slight smile due to his presence, but the smile slowly drifted away. "Ikuto… say something." Her body began to shake as his same expressionless eyes remained unchanging.

She shook him roughly. "Say something!" Her words commanded, but everything else about her was pleading, begging for a response.

The doctors in the room looked away. Mrs. Hinamori winced, clearly imagining what was going on despite her current lack of sight. And to be honest, she wasn't surprised. It's hard, knowing the one you love most is trying to take their own life.

If her husband tried to kill himself without ever confronting her about it, then greeting her the same way Amu is greeting Ikuto right now, she'd probably react the same way, too. Still, she couldn't help but feel bad for her daughter as well. Perhaps it was something that had to do with being a mother, or maybe it was just part of being a human.

"Please!!!" she pleaded. "Ikuto! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just… I was confused! Please! Just say something!" Amu continued to plead. Despite the odd form of relief tears always cause, she couldn't cry anymore. It was as if she had used up all her tears.

And then, she collapsed, just like she had the night before. Her hands still gripped tightly onto the taller man's shirt.

One of the doctor's whispered, and then they all nodded in agreement. Then they all silently exited the room, staying unnoticed my the fallen Amu.

"Please…," her voice came as a whisper as she faced the ground. Almost all hope had vanished within her. "Please… I need to hear your voice."

"Amu." Her head snapped up immediately, and she let out a startled gasp. Not only did he finally speak to her, but on top of his head were two, blue, pointed cat ears.

"Ikuto… did you…?" all she could do was stare wide eyed as a little transparent figure appeared just above his shoulder.

"Yoru!" Amu jumped up and her hand reached out to grasp the small kitten chara, but only felt a slight chill as her hand passed right through him. Not expecting this, she stumbled and lost her balance, and fell into Ikuto's chest. This time, his arms quickly wrapped around her and held her close.

"Amu… please, never worry me like that again…" Amu leaned her head against his chest.

"I won't. I promise. I'm so sorry… I was so scared you were going to hate me." This time, tears were able to break through, but this time they carried a much gentler feeling with them. A feeling of happiness and comfort.

His arms hugged her tighter. "Amu, I could never hate you, you know that."

Amu looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you." His cat ears had vanished, and Yoru's shape wasn't visible at all, but Amu was to tired to mention it. They enjoyed each other's warm embrace together, and shared one last kiss before Ikuto picked up his girlfriend and placed her on the bed. The second her head met contact with the soft pillow, she was out.

"Oyasumi, Amu-koi."

The next morning, the two woke up to the bright sun greeting them through the tainted gray windows.

Last night, the doctors willingly allowed Ikuto to spend the night over to sleep in one of the nearby chairs.

"Ohaiyo-gozaimasu, Ikuto-koi," Amu greeted him sleepily. He slowly sat up, grunting once he was upright.

"Geeze, these chairs are horrible for sleeping in. I wonder how your mother is doing," he said, eyeing the sleeping woman on the chair across the room from him. Amu giggled.

"You know you could have slept in the bed with me, right?"

"Yeah, but I doubt the doctors wouldn't ban me from the hospital if I did."

"What. It's not like we would be doing anything _disgusting_. Just sleeping in the same bed," Amu responded. Ikuto sweat-dropped.

"I highly doubt they'd ever believe us, though."

"True," Amu laughed. Still smiling, she got his attention, "Hey, Ikuto?"

"Hm?"

"I've made my decision."

His calm look faded away as an upset frown took it's place. "Amu, you know that you don't hav-"

"No, I've had enough time. I'm not going to take any chances of loosing you." Ikuto opened his mouth, but then closed it once more.

"After last night, I realized just how important you were to me. If it weren't for the thought of you… I don't think I could have stopped myself."

"But what about your charas?" Ikuto still seemed unconvinced that she should be making the decision at this point.

"I do miss them, too," she shrugged. "but I can talk to them now, so I know they are okay."

"Amu-"

She interrupted him once more. "Though I do, in fact, miss them, the thought of loosing you is too risky. I just can't do it. I'll have to wait for another chance to free them."

"Amu, are you sure?" Ikuto asked, still disapproving.

She gave a playful pouting look. "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing." He chuckled at that.

"True," he sighed. "but we still have no idea how long it will be until we can find a different way to free them."

"Yes, but if the only other option is to give you up, I'd wait forever."

Ikuto walked over and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I hope you are making the right decision right now."

"I know I am."

And with that, they both gazed out into the sunrise in each other's arms.

**Neko-chan: Was that too cheesy of an ending? Idk. You tell me. **

**Also, I'm thinking of making this the last chapter to this quell, and making another one. No, there won't be a long wait this time, I just think that that's a good place to leave off on this story. Tell me your opinion.**

**I added the weird song thing I talked about last time on Utube. Look up WARNING ALL AMUTO FANS!!! By AmuxIkuto4evr. **

**Now, weather I continue on this fanfiction or make another quell, I'm only going to have a few more chapters before the story ends. So I want some Ideas on what to make for my next story:**

**A Rimahiko story (.kimi as well as a few others say I should make this one, but you really should read her story though.)**

**A story where Ikuto turns into a cat. (Yeah, there are a bunch, but it still sounds interesting)**

**A story with a new character (lot's of those, too)**

**Or complete my Bonus Story that I've been making in between chapters of these.**

**Neko-chan: Kay. Now 3 more amusing things. One of them I noticed, one of them my friend noticed.**

**I noticed that when you type a Private Message to someone, up top, it abbreviates Private Messages into PMs. xD PMS. **

**On episode 83 in Shugo Chara, at about 13:53 (depends on your video), when the girl is crouched down by the wall saying "I wish I could dance like that! It looks difficult…" in the background, there is a guy walking by with the weirdest face. It almost looks like a sad clown. xD I'll post it on Utube as soon as I can. **

**On episode 83, at about 10:35 (yet again, depends on your video) Tadagay is holding a can and blushing. He looks kind of drunk. xD**

**Well, that's all. See you all in the next chapter! ^-^**


	15. To the next story!

**Neko-chan: Okay, so I am going to post out another story to be a sequel to this one. It's probably only going to be a few chapters long. Here's a basic summary:**

**Sequel to **_**An Amuto Story**_**, and **_**Finding my Heart: Another Amuto Story**_**: Amu overhears Lulu saying that what they had believed to be the embryo before wasn't really the embryo at all. In fact, the **_**real **_**embryo is a dark person who just happens to be moving in to the area…**

**Title: **_**My Amuto Ending**_

**I know, I know. It sounds Cheezy, but I made it while listening to **_**My Happy Ending**_** by Avril Lavigne (DO NOT OWN!). And yes, it actually **_**is **_**a happy ending in this story, unlike the song. Hm… I know a current Songfic writer who may want to use that as an Anti-Tadamu fanfic. ~.^**

**And after that, I believe I'm going to attempt to do two stories at once. Though I may end up way over my head on this, I might as well try. **

**Story 1: Only I Can See the Real You**

**This is an idea sent in by **_**centurylm**_**. I hope you don't mind me pasting your idea up here? **

**Ikuto is a cat while he is in front of other people but when he's around  
Amu he could be human and they could have a relationship but only she can see  
his human form everyone else sees a black cat with blue eyes and some blue fur  
and in some situations it could turn out to be funny talking to a cat but  
somehow in the end they find out how to keep Ikuto human so he can live a long  
and happy life as a human with Amu.**

**Story 2: A Rimahiko Story (Eh. I got lazy again. XP If you can, send in ideas for a better title)**

**Basically, a continuation of the anime again from the point I start writing it and so on, just like **_**An Amuto Story**_**. **

**So, that's about it. See you in the new story soon! ^-^**


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